The present invention relates to cervical spinal immobilization device and, more particularly, to a device particularly adapted for use with participants in contact sports wearing impact protective helmets for protecting the head and skull area from impact injuries, and wearing other padding such as shoulder pads.
It has long been known in contact sports, especially football, that impacts are dangerous to the participants. Thus, it has been common to provide various protective equipments for football players and the like, including padding, and especially including impact protective helmets to protect the head and skull area from impact injuries. In addition, due to the often traumatic body collisions occurring in such sports, it has also been common to provide additional protective equipments such as padding for the shoulder area extending around and behind the neck in close proximity to the helmets which are used. This is typical, for example, in football, hockey, lacrosse and the like sports.
While such helmets and shoulder pads have been significant in reducing direct impact injuries from blows to the head, the current style of rigid helmet with face guard has introduced an increased risk of paralyzing injury. This is because the rigid helmet and rigid face guard, combined with the shoulder pads, are braced to prevent direct impact injury to the face area and head, and result in the transfer of all forces to the head as a body. The head and skull being encased within a padded helmet is securely gripped by the helmet and any force applied to the helmet moves the entire head and is concentrated in the cervical region of the spine. This has resulted in an increasing incidence of broken necks and cervical region injuries.
In treating such an injury it becomes important to support and stabilize the cervical region in order to reduce the severity of the injury and minimize the danger of paralysis. Moreover, because of such frequent injury, new standards have been established, in the emergency medical care field, for the proper handling of trauma patients in order to improve the patient's chances for recovery. Such proper handling requires immediate attention to the patient in the injury situation, and thereafter, immediate transport to a medical facility for treatment. Immediate treatment includes completely immobilizing the injury before movement, and stabilizing and holding the injured area in an immobilized manner during transport to the medical facility for treatment.
Several cervical and spinal immobilization devices have been developed. Generally these devices comprise short or long spine boards which are used in association with other devices such as cervical collars, body harnesses or straps. One example of a prior art cervical collar is an inflatable neck and head support for use by wearer. This prior art device is a generally rectangular body of flexible gas impervious material with two side panels that is sealed around its entire periphery to form a closed chamber. A valve is mounted in the body to inflate and deflate the chamber. Fasteners are mounted on spaced portions of the body to allow, upon inflation of the chamber, the forming of an annular shape and retaining the annular shape. A modification of this support includes a thin layer of closed cell foam adhered to a wall of the closed chamber to provide a degree of rigidity to the head support.
A more complex device of the prior art is a cervical support for use in immobilizing victims of spinal injuries. The cervical support includes a cervical splint dimensioned to extend from the top of the head to about mid-back of an adult victim, and is shaped to follow the outline of the victim's head and shoulders. The support includes head and chest straps for securing the victim to the splint. The head straps wrap about the forehead and the chin of the victim, and the chest straps extend over the shoulder and under the opposite arm in criss-cross fashion across the chest.
Another more complex type prior art device is a cervical spine immobilization device made up of a corrugated plastic board member. The device includes a reinforcement panel at a critical central zone. Various portions of the device are held together in their secured locations by straps and belts such as those made of nylon webbing attached to the device.
In the area of sports injuries, particularly where the injured person is wearing a sports helmet, one prior art device, which is used to attempt to prevent injury, provides for a flexible support brace which transfers excessive back motion of a sports helmet through a flexible interlinked brace. The brace floats freely between two spaced circumferential spans on the helmet during normal play, but engages with the helmet and collapses to a braced configuration if the helmet is excessively pulled back or pushed forward. In the braced configuration, helmet loads are transferred to the shoulder pads of the player directly, thus transferring excessive head loads into the chest area of the player where they can be more safely absorbed. This device, while taking advantage of the use of the helmet as part of the support structure, is not used to immobilize the cervical region of a person that has been injured, but is instead used to attempt to avoid injuries by transferring the forces applied to the helmet in the event of impact.
In accordance with the device and method of the invention, the complications of the prior art are avoided and a simple device is provided which serves to immobilize a cervical region of a person who has been injured, while wearing a helmet and shoulder pads, without the necessity of removing the helmet, or require any movement of the injured person prior to complete immobilization, which would risk additional injury to the cervical region.